Preview

Hard Reset: Extended Edition Preview

by Salat on January 28, 2012 · 0 comments

 

The original, downloadable version of Hard Reset won plenty of fans with its great-looking, proprietary engine and its unique take on FPS combat. Throwing players headlong into a Blade Runner-style dystopia, the game then armed them with a pair of zany, chameleon-like weapons. With a a flick of the mouse wheel, your rifle can become a shotgun, and then a grenade launcher. Ditto the other option, a versatile energy weapon that shoots everything from simple plasma bolts to powerful homing missiles.

Praised for its beautiful graphics and old-school gameplay, Hard Reset was sure to attract the attention of publishers. Kalypso Media stepped into the fray, working with Polish developers Flying Wild Hog on Hard Reset: Extended Edition, a boxed product that will offer an improved engine, new enemies, new environments, and more backstory. Most crucially, five new levels will add three hours of gameplay, taking the total playing time up to around eight hours.

 

My time with the Extended Edition began with a crash course in the basics — scrolling between weapons to meet different tactical challenges and luring the game’s robotic enemies toward environmental dangers like exploding barrels and short-circuiting transformers. Once I had a feel for the game, some quick work in the dev console whisked me into one of the new levels.

Kalypso employees on hand touted the more “organic” feel of the Extended Edition’s content, which ushers the game’s hero outside of the original version’s exclusively urban environment. I did notice a tinge of green creeping into the game’s sumptuously rendered levels, which reminded me of the kind of post-industrial jungle seen in games like Bionic Commando or Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (see also SWTOR’s Taris). A lot of the action seemed to take place on giant trash heaps that were slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding vegetation.

New enemies were tougher to identify, thanks in part to the frantic action, though Hard Reset’s many robotic adversaries do tend to blend together. My demo time ended with me fighting off waves of angry ‘bots inside a machine that resembled a giant Dispose-All — whirling blades cut through and overhead light source, casting psychedelic shadows. It was a white-knuckle encounter that challenged me to push my two weapons to the limit, and it showed off Hard Reset’s core concepts — graphical wizardry and throwback shooter gameplay — very nicely. Circle strafers and cyberpunk junkies take note: if you missed Hard Reset when it came to Steam this fall, consider the Extended Edition — provided, of course, that the price point is reasonable.




Source: Gaming Today

{ 0 comments }

The latest set of preliminary data has arrived from Japan. For the second week of January, all hardware typically drops off sharply. Software dropped off this week as well – only two games sold over 50,000 this week, compared to two games selling over 100,000 last week and Marioland a hair away from 100,000 as well.

1) Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Masou Kishin II – Revelation of Evil God (PSP) – 70,000

2) Mario Kart 7 (3DS) – 59,000

3) Super Mario 3DLand (3DS) – 47,000

4) Monster Hunter Portable 3G (3DS) – 45,000

5) Inazuma Eleven Go Shine / Dark (3DS) – 25,000

6) Musou Orochi 2 (PS3) – 24,000

7) Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3) – 23,000

9) Just Dance Wii (Wii) – 20,000

9) Shinrei Camera: Tsuiteru Techou (3DS) – 20,000

10) Monster Hunter Portable 3 (PSP) – 16,000

12) Go Vacation (Wii) – 9,000

12) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS3) – 9,000

14) Kirby’s Return to Dreamland (Wii) – 8,000

14) Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Ketteiban (Wii) – 8,000

15) Frontier Gate (PSP) – 7,000

In addition to the games above, Mario Kart Wii (Wii), Wii Sports Resort (Wii), Wii Party (Wii), Magician’s Quest: Oshare na Mahou Tsukai (DS), and Inazuma Eleven Strikers 2012 Xtreme (Wii) should all end up in the final top twenty data as well.

The big question for this week is what level the new hardware will hold at this week. Vita and 3DS sold almost 300,000 units last week. Hardware sales will typically fall to 40-55% of the first week of January in the second week of January. Anything outside that range on the positive side is higher than expected demand, while anything outside that range on the negative side is lower than expected demand. All hardware last week increased in the first week of January besides PS2 and Vita, so don’t be surprised if Vita ends up below 15,000 units this week. 3DS in contrast will likely still be over 100,000 units this week, which is a strong figure for just about any time of year in Japan (the US equivalent is like selling 250,000 – 300,000 units a week early in November when there is only a modest seasonal lift at play).

Barring some kind of unexpected collapse, 3DS should be able to top 5m in Japan in February, and sell through over 1m units in January to March 2012. Games should continually be announced for 3DS starting perhaps at Nintendo’s financial briefing in a couple weeks, as it’s been a long time since anything has sold 5m units in a year in Japan as 3DS will from February 26, 2011 to mid-February 2012. DS did sell 4.9m in the year to June 2008, but that was almost four years ago already. Wii, PS3, and PSP never got to even 4m units a year in Japan at any point, while DS once topped 8m units in a year.

Looking ahead, PSP, PS3, and Wii don’t have much software coming in the short term that is ‘big’. More importantly, Vita has nothing that looks relevant either for months, so the big question is where Vita bottoms out in early 2012 before PSP / PS3 / X360 games begin moving to Vita later in the year. Vita is in the classic chicken and egg scenario though at the moment – software can’t sell well because the base is still tiny, and base is still tiny because the software isn’t selling well (yet). Assuming Vita does somehow get to 2m+ by the end of 2012, it should be fine despite the slow start.

Contact Vgchartz at jmazel@vgchartz.com

Source: gamrFeed

{ 0 comments }

The latest set of preliminary data has arrived from Japan. For the second week of January, all hardware typically drops off sharply. Software dropped off this week as well – only two games sold over 50,000 this week, compared to two games selling over 100,000 last week and Marioland a hair away from 100,000 as well.

1) Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Masou Kishin II – Revelation of Evil God (PSP) – 70,000

2) Mario Kart 7 (3DS) – 59,000

3) Super Mario 3DLand (3DS) – 47,000

4) Monster Hunter Portable 3G (3DS) – 45,000

5) Inazuma Eleven Go Shine / Dark (3DS) – 25,000

6) Musou Orochi 2 (PS3) – 24,000

7) Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3) – 23,000

9) Just Dance Wii (Wii) – 20,000

9) Shinrei Camera: Tsuiteru Techou (3DS) – 20,000

10) Monster Hunter Portable 3 (PSP) – 16,000

12) Go Vacation (Wii) – 9,000

12) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS3) – 9,000

14) Kirby’s Return to Dreamland (Wii) – 8,000

14) Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Ketteiban (Wii) – 8,000

15) Frontier Gate (PSP) – 7,000

In addition to the games above, Mario Kart Wii (Wii), Wii Sports Resort (Wii), Wii Party (Wii), Magician’s Quest: Oshare na Mahou Tsukai (DS), and Inazuma Eleven Strikers 2012 Xtreme (Wii) should all end up in the final top twenty data as well.

The big question for this week is what level the new hardware will hold at this week. Vita and 3DS sold almost 300,000 units last week. Hardware sales will typically fall to 40-55% of the first week of January in the second week of January. Anything outside that range on the positive side is higher than expected demand, while anything outside that range on the negative side is lower than expected demand. All hardware last week increased in the first week of January besides PS2 and Vita, so don’t be surprised if Vita ends up below 15,000 units this week. 3DS in contrast will likely still be over 100,000 units this week, which is a strong figure for just about any time of year in Japan (the US equivalent is like selling 250,000 – 300,000 units a week early in November when there is only a modest seasonal lift at play).

Barring some kind of unexpected collapse, 3DS should be able to top 5m in Japan in February, and sell through over 1m units in January to March 2012. Games should continually be announced for 3DS starting perhaps at Nintendo’s financial briefing in a couple weeks, as it’s been a long time since anything has sold 5m units in a year in Japan as 3DS will from February 26, 2011 to mid-February 2012. DS did sell 4.9m in the year to June 2008, but that was almost four years ago already. Wii, PS3, and PSP never got to even 4m units a year in Japan at any point, while DS once topped 8m units in a year.

Looking ahead, PSP, PS3, and Wii don’t have much software coming in the short term that is ‘big’. More importantly, Vita has nothing that looks relevant either for months, so the big question is where Vita bottoms out in early 2012 before PSP / PS3 / X360 games begin moving to Vita later in the year. Vita is in the classic chicken and egg scenario though at the moment – software can’t sell well because the base is still tiny, and base is still tiny because the software isn’t selling well (yet). Assuming Vita does somehow get to 2m+ by the end of 2012, it should be fine despite the slow start.

Contact Vgchartz at jmazel@vgchartz.com

Source: gamrFeed

{ 0 comments }

Dungeon Hunter 3 hands-on preview

by Salat on December 8, 2011 · 0 comments

In part two of my Gameloft hands-on adventure this week, I also got to fiddle around with a preview build of Dungeon Hunter 3. The kindly staff at Gameloft Towers shoved an iPad in my face, launched the game, and left the room, telling me to ‘Get on with it’. I duly obliged.
As with [...]
Dungeon Hunter 3 hands-on preview is a post from: TouchGen



For more of this article, visit http://www.touchgen.com or click on the story headline

Source: TouchGen

{ 0 comments }

In part 2 of our week of previews for Infinity Blade 2, releasing this December 1st, we look at some of the characters you will meet early on in the game…
Some parts of our preview may contain some spoilers, but we’ll try to keep these to a minimum, particular where story is concerned.
Part 2: [...]
Infinity Blade 2 preview – part 2: characters is a post from: TouchGen



For more of this article, visit http://www.touchgen.com or click on the story headline

Source: TouchGen

{ 0 comments }

Infinity Blade hits iOS devices on December 1st 2011. In the run up to its release we reveal the details of the game in a series of previews, from graphics to gameplay, and story to creatures.
Some parts of our preview may contain some spoilers, but we’ll try to keep these to a minimum, particular where [...]
Infinity Blade 2 preview – part 1: graphics is a post from: TouchGen



For more of this article, visit http://www.touchgen.com or click on the story headline

Source: TouchGen

{ 0 comments }

I don’t think I give Chair enough credit. Not only did it make a good game in Infinity Blade [$ 5.99], but it also created an entire mobile game structure and set of mechanics that has caught fire with both developers and mobile game fans. There are good reasons, too: the instance-based conflicts, progression, repetition are perfectly bite-sized for mobile and tablet play and visuals, while the over-the-shoulder slide, tap, and swipe controls are undeniably touch intuitive.

This didn’t hit me in a vacuum, by the way. I just spent a couple of hours with Uppercut Game‘s Epoch and describing the way Infinity Blade gets down is the easiest way to start a conversation about Epoch. Sure Epoch is cover-based shooter based in a broken-down sci-fi world populated by robots, but on a finer level it takes and adapts a lot of what made Infinity Blade so great and applies it to its own action model and structure.

The proof of what this does for Epoch is in its pudding: the game’s top-notch visuals are allowed to look great all the time, while the core play consistently stays fun and intuitive. It doesn’t hurt to mention that it has the breeziness to make it possible to play on-the-go, but I don’t think many of us will be able to put it down as quickly as our loved ones would like.

Epoch is a “guided experience,” meaning exploration is a no-no. Actually, you’ll never be allowed to leave its bread-and-butter, the cover you’ll need to sit behind to take out foes. That’s because the entire game’s action model, and the fun you can have, hinges solely around sliding, jumping, and shooting, and positioning around cover objects.

It sounds like a bummer on the surface, but Epoch doesn’t suffer from this decision. Swiping to move from piece of cover to piece of cover is a fairly smooth and excitingly kinetic experience. You move fast with flair and there’s some variety to it. Different enemies with different kinds of guns are constantly challenging your choice of barrier. Some enemies, for example, can shoot timed grenades, while others a steady stream that can clip through a barricade as if it didn’t exist, forcing you to jump over the wide beam. It’s really fun to play with the cover system, which is an unusual sentiment since guns are involved.

But while shooting takes a little bit of a back seat due to the more action-oriented style of the cover part of the equation, shoot you will. Epoch is seperated into insance-based fights, all of which are gated by kills. Swipe to move from cover, tap to target. Shooting is automatic once you target an enemy, but you never feel out of control. Your robot dude only shoots when you put it in a position to do so. If he’s shooting like a moron, it’s always because you are making stupid tactical approaches.

Speaking of robots, Epoch takes place in some bizarro future where machines may or may not have had an uprising of some sort. Every area I’ve seen in the game so far has been ultra-bombed out, while every robotic enemy has seemed to have been made purely to kill any opposition that swings its way. To be fair, the robot protagonist you play as seems to have been tuned in the same fashion, but your dude has a mission: find a princess — at least, I think that’s the mission.

The story-telling in particular in Epoch may not be the greatest thing ever, but I love the approach. Uppercut Game’s isn’t telling you much. Your robot doesn’t talk and you’re just exploring a world in which, obviously, something has gone horribly awry. To piece events together, the game dishes out optional diaries and messages from important people to the game world’s civilization.

The lack of story cut-scenes keeps action clippy, and it’s obvious that this is the kind of game that wants you to keep re-doing missions before going to the new ones. Your robot can upgrade its gun through an in-game store with credits earned after battle. There’s also a basic level-up system and a host of upgradeable special moves you can deploy in battle, including armor, missile, and grenade abilities. These in particular are cool, as they operate as crowd-clearing mechanisms and factor into the overall strategy. And, as I’ve discovered, you get pretty wrapped up in upgrading everything you possibly can.

Epoch does enough via its weapon systems and cover-based action to make it play and feel like a different game. And that game part, taken outside of the structure, seems to be pretty good. There’s a lot of Infinity Blade mixed into it, too. The controls, the game’s focus on repetition for better loot, its entire presentation, and a lot of its systems are undoubtedly influenced directly by Chair’s work. I’m not sure if this formula and structure are wearing on you yet, but if it’s not, you’ll probably want to check this one out when it launches. According to Uppercut, expect it soon.

Source: Touch Arcade

{ 0 comments }

I’ve been a die hard Terran since Wings of Liberty’s release. I’ve always felt Terran were OP and that’s why I played them. Some people say there’s no honor in playing an OP race. But when it comes to SC2, I play to win and that starts with race selection. Let’s face facts, the winner of the GSL tournament and the Starcraft 2 invitational at Blizzcon were both Terran players. Coincidence? I think not.

Now before I get started, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the new units in HoTS as well as the changes to existing units if you haven’t done so already. Otherwise you’re going to be lost.

As I mentioned before, I’m a Terran enthusiast. But after playing the multiplayer demo available at Blizzcon, I’m not so sure they’ll be my race of choice when Heart of the Swarm comes out. The new Terran units just don’t entice me that much. Let’s start with the Warhound. It will be filling the Thor’s role as the new anti-Mutalisk unit. I’m not excited about this. I felt Thors were just fine for dealing with Mutalisks when I’m attacking a Zerg position. Sure they had trouble maneuvering in tight spaces, but I use turrets to defend my base so I don’t need to have Thors running around my mineral line. Now they’re telling me that Thor can’t attack air units and I can only build one? Fantastic, Thor will be the Terran’s version of Mothership in HoTS. Because the Mothership worked out well for the Protoss right? Oh wait, no. It’s being retired because NO ONE USES IT.

I tried the Warhound out against a Zerg player and it was a complete waste of minerals. Without Mutalisks or mech units to fight, the Warhound really has nothing to do and serves no purpose on the battlefield. Maybe I’ll find this thing more useful when I play a few games against Protoss, but for now, I’m not loving it.

Terrans are also getting the Shredder, which will put out a field that damages nearby enemy units. But this ability is only active if there are no friendly units in the vicinity. If a marine happens to come near the Shredder it becomes worthless. I was working on finding places to put these things that made sense, but my Zerg opponent just avoided them for awhile and then took them out with Mutalisks when he got a chance.

I just don’t feel like I’m getting much to work with here. It may be time to switch. So let’s look at my options. I could go Zerg, but I really hate the “inject larvae” system. Why the hell can’t I set this to autocast? I want to focus on battle, not repeating some stupid, mundane action over and over for the entire game. Also, the new “Swarm Host” looks absolutely useless. I can’t believe Blizzard has the audacity to call this a siege unit. If a group of these things ever break through my wall-off I’ll quit Stacraft forever (not really). And as for the Viper… well, the Viper is actually pretty cool. Its “blinding cloud” ability is going to give terran players nightmares. But one good unit isn’t enough to change my mind about Zerg.

Protoss, on the other hand, are looking pretty good in the HoTS multiplayer. Sure they’re losing the Carrier and Mothership but those were overpriced and rarely used units anyway. Let’s be realistic, the Carrier hasn’t been a threat to anyone since Brood Wars. I think the new units will more than make up for the loss of these two. Protoss are getting the Tempest which is a certified Mutalisk destroyer with its 22 damage splash attack and it can hit ground units. They’re also getting the Oracle, which will be an excellent harasser with it’s ability to keep workers from mining minerals.

I really enjoyed using the Oracle. I played a game as a Protoss and when I got a couple of these babies out on the field, I started shutting down mining operations at all of my opponent’s expansions. He had to pull a bunch of Zerglings back to deal with the “entomb” ability. These things work as advertised!

And finally, they’re getting the Replicant. This is the one that’s interesting. It can transform into any non-massive unit that it gets in range of. And once it’s transformed it has all upgrades for that unit, even if the player the unit that got copied wasn’t upgraded. This means I could have a siege tank, with siege mode even if my Terran opponent hadn’t researched siege mode yet. Also (and this may change) it can currently copy workers. And since the Nexus is getting a recall ability in HoTS, it will be possible to sneak a Replicant up to one of an opponent’s workers, copy it and then recall out of there before the Replicant is killed.

I wasn’t able to use this to great effect in my matches, but I’m clumsy as Protoss since I’ve mainly been playing Terran. I think once I have more games under my belt, I’ll be able to come up with some interesting strategies for these guys. Of course, I could be wrong. A few games on an unfinished demo at Blizzcon really isn’t a good indicator of whether or not I should be switching races. It will take a few weeks of playing the game on Battle.net before I really decide whether or not the switch is in my best interest. But right now I’m thinking of giving my life for Aiur.




Source: Gaming Today

{ 0 comments }

Page 1 of 2212345...1020...Last »